1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved foot pressure testing structure, more particularly to an improved foot pressure testing structure that makes use of a footprint mat method to movably mold the magnitude and the central line of a traveling path of the pressure exerted on our feet as a reference for the medical assessment and production of foot accessories such as foot-bases and shoes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Feet play an important role for supporting our body weight, reducing the force exerted on our lower limbs and related joints, absorbing vibrations, buffering impacts and controlling the balance of our body when our body is in contact with the ground. Such functions can be carried out mainly by the coordination of our tissues including bones, ligaments and muscles, etc.
In general, at least 80% of us have foot problems, and injuries to our ankles or feet change the dynamics of our gait and further produce pressure on the joints of our lower limbs, and thus may cause pathological changes to our joints. However, such problems usually can be corrected by appropriate assessments, treatments and medical care.
In fact, the study of foot pressure started at the end of the 19th Century, sand, gypsum and paper and ink were used for observations at early stage. Later, Harris and Beath invented the foot print mat based  on Morton's kinetograph and made use of a static standing pose and the principle of the grids of different depths and ink to obtain a foot pressure diagram.
The present gait assessment is a traditional and effective foot assessment. However, the gait assessment requires some techniques and takes a long-time practice as well as having a standardization of the process before a medical professional to develop the necessary assessing skill. The method of analyzing the gait relates to a foot pressure testing equipment that mainly combines a force platform 10 (for the patient to take a test by stepping on this platform) as shown in FIG. 1 or a sole force testing platform (not labeled in the figure) which is a sole using a measuring platform to be placed at the sole of a pair of shoes, such that a patient wears such shoes to take the test and measure the ground reaction forces while the patient is walking.
The foot pressure analysis in a gait assessment is used to study and compare the change of foot pressure caused by different sports or diseases and compare the effects before and after the treatments by foot accessories. At present, the foot pressure measuring instruments have the following three situations:                (1) Since the existing foot pressure measuring instruments are imported, therefore the price is high, and the costs for consuming materials and maintenance are also high.        (2) The functions of the current foot pressure measuring instruments are complicated, and it is not easy for a non-professional to operate such an instrument for analysis.         (3) It is not easy to quickly and accurately assess the foot pressure situation of the shoes while the tester is walking.        a) Since the precision of the sensor of an insole type measuring system is affected by high temperature and humidity, therefore it is necessary to repeat the test many times and get the average.        b) The insole type measuring system also may have errors on measuring the foot pressure due to the pressure formed by the curved surface of the insole itself and the sensor may be damaged easily by the repeated exertion of pressure.        
In view of the foregoing shortcomings, the inventor of the present invention based years of experience in the related field to conduct extensive researches and experiments and finally invented an improved structure to reduce costs and simplify the operation of the instrument.
To make it easier for our examiner to understand the objective of the invention, its structure, innovative features and performance, we use a preferred embodiment together with the attached drawings for the detailed description of the invention.